The Most Eligible Doctor

by Karen Rose Smith

  On Wednesday evening the Sawyer Springs Food Bank bustled with activity. It was the end of February and the spring clothing drive always brought people from every walk of life to assist. Lily and Megan were helping to sort children’s clothes. Brianne stood at the drop-off counter, passing boxes in the right direction for volunteers to pack. She kept thinking about her interview in Minneapolis at the beginning of the week and what she was going to do if Project Voyage accepted her for the team. She had liked Dr. Tartuff and everyone she’d met there. But leaving Sawyer Springs would be wrenching.

  And leaving Jed…

  Trying to keep her mind on the task in front of her, she heard the bell over the door ring several times. She accepted clothes mechanically, handing them on until she finally raised her head and saw…Jed.

  “I didn’t know you’d be helping here tonight.” His tone was casual but the nerve in his jaw was working.

  They’d hardly said two words to each other since she’d returned from Minneapolis, except for whatever conversation was necessary about their patients. “Lily and I signed up.”

  He probably wouldn’t have stopped by this evening if he’d known she would be here, Brianne realized. Working side by side this week had been difficult for her. Since she’d realized she loved him, ignoring everything that had passed between them and trying to deny the effect of inadvertent touches seemed impossible. She’d noticed the flashes of emotion in Jed’s eyes, too, and known he was as affected as she was. But he’d apparently set a course for himself, and there was nothing she could do about that. She loved him, but he was obviously closed to that emotion because it could cause him pain again. She’d felt that way, too, until she’d met him. Then, her heart had decided he was worth the risk.

  The box of clothes he set on her counter was full. “Dad decided to clean out his closet. There are suits in here he said he’ll never wear again. They’re out of style, but I thought somebody might be able to use them.”

  To avoid his gaze, she examined the contents of the box and saw two sweaters along with the suits. “These are in beautiful condition.”

  “They’re my contribution. Or did you only want summer things?”

  “Oh, no. Anything’s fine.”

  As Brianne began to put the clothes back into the box, Jed helped her. Somehow their hands tangled and their gazes met. As always, her pulse quickened and she ached for what they could have together.

  Pulling away from her, he stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets. “Ellie and Chris are arriving tomorrow night. I didn’t want to take the time to do this while they’re here.”

  “I understand. Does your dad know they’re coming?”

  Jed almost smiled. “I thought I’d better tell him so he didn’t have a heart attack when they arrived. He seems excited. As excited as he gets. I have orders to stop at the grocery store and stock up on everything we might need.”

  “It sounds as if you’re excited, too.”

  “It will be good to see them.”

  Just then, the bell over the door sounded again and a man called Jed’s name.

  Jed glanced over his shoulder. A smile turned up his lips as he greeted the mayor of Sawyer Springs. Lou Devors was in his mid-forties, a genial man who kept an eagle-eye on the Sawyer Springs budget. The residents of Sawyer Springs had elected him for a third term, which showed their support for the efficient way he ran the town.

  Lou shook Jed’s hand. “Your father told me I could find you here. Sorry to barge in on your private time, but I didn’t want to bother you at the office.”

  “I don’t mind.” After Jed introduced Lou, he explained to Brianne, “Lou and I used to play one-on-one basketball on weekends. He was a few years ahead of me in school but he kept me out of trouble.”

  “He didn’t have time for trouble,” Lou said with a wave of his hand. “You were hell-bent on making tracks out of here. I was surprised to hear you’d come back and accepted a job at Beechwood. If you’re going to be around for a while, at least until the end of the year, I want to invite you to fill one of our city council seats. Joe Briggs and his family moved, so one’s vacant. Since your forefathers founded Sawyer Springs, it only seemed fitting I ask you. You can run for the seat yourself next term if you have a mind to.”

  “It’s an honor to be asked.”

  “When I suggested your name, there was a consensus. No in-fighting for once. What do you say?”

  Brianne held her breath as she waited. Would Jed be leaving or staying?

  “Meetings are once a month?” Jed asked.

  Lou nodded. “A special one every now and then. But that doesn’t happen too often.”

  “It sounds like something I’d like to do.”

  “Are you going to be around on Saturday?”

  “I should be. I’m not on-call this weekend.”

  “Stop in at the office. I’m there Saturday mornings. We’ll talk about it and sign the official papers.” After he shook Jed’s hand and nodded to Brianne, the mayor exited with the same quick step with which he’d come in.

  “You’re going to stay in Sawyer Springs?” Brianne asked Jed.

  “Yes.”

  She knew she should ask the next question, but was almost afraid of the answer about the directorship of the plastic surgery center. Had he made a decision about that, too?

  His gaze dropped to the box of clothes, then to Brianne’s hands, as if remembering the chemistry when their fingers had touched. As if remembering everything that had happened between them up until now…Then he asked, “Will you be around this weekend?”

  “I should be.”

  “I’ll give you my decision about the directorship on Saturday. I know you want to get this project started.” He lifted the box of clothes. “Where would you like me to put these?”

  Motioning to a corner where volunteers were stacking the men’s things, she watched as Jed easily carried the heavy box. He was wearing jeans, a flannel shirt and his insulated vest. He’d never looked more like an outdoors man. She loved everything about him, and knew that if he accepted the directorship, he would be opening himself to life again, and maybe could open his heart to love.

  Hope lifted her heart when he stopped at the counter again. There seemed to be a volume of unsaid words between them. Finally, he broke the silence. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Her hands trembled as she held on to the counter, allowing her dreams to come alive once more.

  On Friday afternoon, Brianne received a call from Project Voyage. She learned she was accepted on the team if she wanted the position, but Dr. Tartuff would need her answer in two weeks. Although she was happy about the offer, when she thought about leaving Jed and Sawyer Springs, she was bombarded with a terrible sadness. Jed’s answer tomorrow about the directorship would give her direction, maybe give her a glimpse of what he was feeling about her.

  That evening Brianne was helping Lily clean up the supper dishes when the telephone rang. She was closest to the phone so she picked it up. “Hello?”

  “Brianne, is that you?”

  It was Al’s gruff voice, and she smiled. “Yes, Al, it’s me.”

  “Well, good. I was hoping you would be there tonight. What are you doing for the next couple of hours?”

  Warily, Brianne answered, “I’m not sure.”

  “I’ve got all my kids here and we’d like you to meet Chris and Ellie. Why don’t you come over for some beer and chips?”

  He’d used the pronoun “we.” “Jed wants me to come over?”

  “We want you to meet our family. Come on, what do you say?”

  She was surprised and touched by Al’s invitation. She would love to meet Jed’s brother and sister. Did that mean he was thinking about letting her into his life?

  “As soon as I freshen up, I’ll be there.”

  When she hung up the phone, she was smiling and felt happier than she had all week.

  It took her only a few minutes to run a brush through her hair and add a light
coat of lipstick. She dressed in a sea-green sweater and skirt with shoes instead of boots. They’d had a couple of warmer days this week and most of the icy spots on sidewalks were gone, at least until tomorrow, when the weatherman was calling for snow again.

  After bidding Lily and Megan good-night, she drove to Jed’s, excited and lighthearted. She wondered if Chris would resemble Jed, if Ellie was petite or tall like her brother.

  After Brianne rang the bell, she waited expectantly.

  The door opened and Jed stood there, a look of surprise on his face. “Brianne.”

  Al was beside him in an instant. “I invited her over to join the party. I thought she’d like to meet Ellie and Chris. Isn’t that a great idea?”

  Something deep and intense flashed in Jed’s eyes. Then he nodded. “I’m sure Ellie and Chris would love to meet Brianne. Come on in.”

  Brianne suddenly felt like a fool. If this was Al’s attempt at matchmaking, it was going to fall flat. She would never have put Jed on the spot like this, and she hoped he knew it.

  Once she was inside, she didn’t have the opportunity to speak to him alone because she got caught up in the introductions. Chris did indeed resemble Jed, taking after their father. Chris’s hair was brown instead of black. Glancing at the picture of the Sawyer family, Brianne decided Ellie looked like her mother.

  Both Chris and Ellie were warm and friendly, and Brianne soon felt her awkwardness slip away. Ray smiled at her while Jed introduced her to three more of Al’s friends.

  After Jed had taken Brianne’s coat, Ellie put her arm through the crook of Brianne’s elbow and guided her to the sofa. “Come talk to me.”

  Lowering her voice, she murmured, “Dad said you and Jed were seeing each other, but you don’t want to go too public with it because you work together at Beechwood.”

  “We’re not exactly ‘seeing’ each other,” Brianne said. She didn’t confide in strangers easily, and even though Ellie was friendly and interested, Brianne wasn’t about to discuss her feelings for Jed.

  “Are you saying Dad misled me?”

  Apparently Ellie was as bluntly honest as her brother. “Jed and I have seen each other outside of work now and then.”

  Ellie’s gaze went to Jed, who had grabbed a beer and then returned to the living room. His eyes were on Brianne and she quickly looked away.

  Ellie smiled. “Hmm. Well, there’s something in the air. Dad’s probably trying to promote it. You know about Caroline?”

  “I know she was Jed’s wife.”

  “Dad didn’t like her at all. Can’t say I blame him. She didn’t like a thing about Sawyer Springs or Dad’s blue-collar background.”

  Brianne didn’t feel comfortable discussing all of this with Jed’s sister, but she didn’t know how to break away without appearing unfriendly.

  Suddenly, though, as if Jed had guessed Ellie had cornered Brianne, he was at her side. “Why don’t you come to the kitchen with me? You can get something to drink and a few snacks.”

  She wasn’t the least bit hungry or thirsty but she’d follow Jed anywhere.

  That idea gave her pause.

  Once in the kitchen, Jed motioned to the cooler of beer and then waved to the counter. “Or there’s wine. Ellie brought that because she doesn’t share our taste in beer.”

  “Beer’s fine,” Brianne said absently, distracted by the masculine shadow of beard on Jed’s jaw, the mesmerizing heat in his eyes. When she stooped to the cooler, he did the same, and they found themselves nose to nose.

  Pulling a bottle from the ice, Jed straightened and handed it to her. “Was Ellie giving you the third degree?”

  “Not exactly. Jed, I want you to know I only came tonight because I thought the invitation was from you, too. Your dad made it sound like that.”

  “He’s so damn happy to have us all here again he wants to tell everybody about it. Last night after Chris and Ellie arrived, he called his poker club to come over. Chris and Ellie were exhausted, but Dad kept them up talking until past two o’clock.” Jed picked up a plate of cookies and held it toward Brianne. “From the bakery.”

  When she took one, their gazes met again, and she wanted to hear his decision so badly, she thought she’d explode.

  Loud voices floated in from the living room, and Ellie called, “Brianne, Jed. Come in here. I want to take pictures so we can update the photo album.”

  Jed groaned. “Always the camera buff. You’d think she’d stop producing and directing when she’s not working.”

  Brianne laughed. “It’s not easy to leave your work at home when you love it.”

  After a pause, Jed agreed. “I guess that’s true. Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

  But it wasn’t that easy. Ellie knew what kind of pictures she wanted and wasn’t satisfied with just any pose. After she snapped Al with his friends, she gave the camera to Ray and he took one of the Sawyer family.

  With enthusiasm, she took the camera back again and motioned to Jed and Brianne. “Over there, by the fireplace. Put your arm around her, Jed.”

  “You don’t have to,” Brianne murmured.

  His arm went around her as if it belonged there. “I always try to give Ellie what she wants. It saves a hassle.”

  Brianne remembered all the other times she’d felt Jed’s arms around her. His embrace always excited her, yet in an odd way, made her feel safe, too. She could feel his heat through his shirtsleeve and she wondered if he could feel hers. When she dared to glance up at him, she knew he could. They couldn’t deny the chemistry between them even if everything else was in a muddle.

  “Have you ever seen these old photo albums?” Ellie asked Brianne, pointing to a stack on the coffee table after the picture-taking was finished.

  When Brianne shook her head, Jed released her. She found it hard to move away from him but she knew she had to.

  Then she went to sit beside Ellie again.

  “After Mom died, we didn’t take many pictures,” Ellie admitted sadly. “It wasn’t until I was a teenager I picked up a camera again. Then I shot mostly scenery and animals, not family. Come see what Jed looked like as a kid.”

  “Oh, Ellie,” he protested.

  Beside Ellie, Brianne eagerly studied the small boy with a lock of hair falling into his eyes.

  “Jed must have been around six in that picture,” Ellie explained.

  He was standing beside a wagon.

  Al peered over Ellie’s shoulder. “That’s the wagon I told you about. On one of Trisha’s visits, I lugged her around in that thing—”

  Al stopped abruptly and there was sudden silence, as if a taboo subject had been broached. Everyone’s gaze was on Jed.

  His voice was strained as he said, “Believe it or not, I have a picture of that. But it’s in storage in L.A. along with all the other stuff I didn’t need in Alaska.” Then, clearing his throat, he turned to glance at the fireplace. “Hey, Chris. Throw another log on the fire, would you?”

  Brianne so wanted to go to Jed and take his hand and tell him she understood the force of a memory. But he began a conversation with Ray then, and she knew he was still pushing down all of his feelings about Trisha and everything that had happened. That one night he’d shared with her, too much had risen to the surface. Brianne just hoped that had been the beginning of a healing process.

  She didn’t have the chance to spend another minute alone with Jed. There were too many people, too many conversations. It was ten when she finally looked at her watch. Not wanting to wear out her welcome, she went to the kitchen for her coat.

  As she was taking it from the back of a chair, Al joined her. “I’m glad you could come.”

  He was a kind, well-meaning man and she didn’t want to take him to task for getting her there under false pretenses. “I’m glad I came, too.”

  When Al helped her with her coat, he said in a low voice, “Don’t you give up on my boy. He just needs a push in the right direction.”

  As Brianne buttoned her coat, s
he argued, “Pushing too hard could send him in the other direction.”

  But Al obviously didn’t agree. He gave her arm a squeeze and advised, “Be patient.”

  After Brianne returned to the living room to say goodbye to everyone, Jed came over and walked her to the door.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he reminded her. “I don’t know when. After I stop in at the mayor’s office, I’ll make rounds at the hospital. It will be after that.”

  “Anytime’s fine.”

  Reaching out, he straightened the lapel of her coat. “I’m glad Dad asked you to come over tonight. Ellie and Chris enjoyed meeting you.”

  He was looking down at her as if he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her. She wanted that again. She’d dreamed of it. She’d hoped for it.

  But then Jed withdrew and took a step away.

  As Brianne started the car, she knew she and Jed would never have a chance together unless he stopped backing away.

  The pizza delivery man was leaving Lily’s Victorian as Jed ascended the porch steps. Brianne was still at the door, and when she saw him, her smile was strained. He knew she was eager for his decision. He should have given it to her last night.

  Last night had confirmed what he’d known all along. He wasn’t ready for the family gatherings and the kids and the commitment that an involvement with someone brought. He was better off single, looking out for his dad, starting a new venture that would set his life on the course he wanted it to go.

  She opened the storm door. “We’re having an early supper. We’ve got plenty. Want to join us?”

  As soon as Jed stepped inside, he knew he couldn’t talk to Brianne while Megan and Lily were within earshot.

  Lily must have sensed that because she called from the kitchen, “Join us, Jed. Then you and Brianne can have a private discussion. Doug bought a big-screen TV. Megan and I are going to pick out a video and take it over to his place to watch.”

  Jed didn’t want to prolong this for anyone, but joining them for supper, then talking to Brianne when the others left, would be best.